Smallsat Proliferation and National Security Ramifications

Noel Rimalovski is a Managing Director at GH Partners, an independent New York-based investment banking firm. Mr. Rimalovski leads the firm’s representation of mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, debt financings, and strategic advisory services to domestic and international clients. At GH, Mr. Rimalovski specializes in the telecom, media, technology, space and defense sectors.

Prior to joining GH, Mr. Rimalovski was with Macquarie Capital, Wasserstein Perella, and Lazard Frères.

Mr. Rimalovski graduated from Tufts College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Steve “Bucky” Butow is the Director of the Space Portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). He joined the team in 2015 as an early plank owner when DIU was known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) and helped establish the organization’s operating locations in Silicon Valley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas.

In his reserve capacity, Butow is a Brigadier General serving as the Commander of the California Air National Guard where he leads 4,900 Airmen assigned to five wings and a headquarters staff. Prior to this assignment, he was a Special Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard.
Butow is a former Commander of the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield, CA, where his responsibilities included organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining 970 combat-ready forces and $1 Billion dollars of special mission aircraft and equipment supporting the U.S. Air Force’s combat rescue and personnel recovery missions. He has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Search and Rescue Center for U.S. Central Command in 2005, and as Chief of Personnel Recovery for U.S. Air Forces Central in 2007 supporting Operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM. Prior to joining DIU, Butow was the Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, California Military Department with responsibilities including cybersecurity, incident awareness and innovation. He has more than 3,500 flying hours in T-37, T-38, C-130, HC-130 and MC-130P aircraft.

As a researcher with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Butow worked on instrument concepts for Mars surface soil analysis at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. He later served as co-principal investigator for a series of airborne science missions for which he was recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the Space Science Division in 1999 and received an Ames Honor Award as a member of an Astrobiology Mission Project Team in 2000.

Butow graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Physics & Astronomy and earned a M.S. in Management with specialization in Air and Space Strategic Studies from the University of Maryland. He has also completed executive courses at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was a member of the National Leadership Preparedness Initiative (NPLI) Cohort 16. Butow is a lifetime member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for academic achievement.

Mike Dickey is a Founding Partner of Elara Nova. Dickey is a career aerospace executive focusing on national security and U.S. space competitiveness for the 21st century. Mike’s experience includes both serving as an Air Force officer, as well as a civilian senior executive level during the stand-up of the United States Space Force. He also has extensive experience advancing space strategy and business development within the space industry.

Dickey’s military career spans a variety of roles and mission areas including space operational commands in the Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office, early development of the Navy’s Theater Ballistic Missile Defense System for the Missile Defense Agency, and flight test of the B-2 Spirit bomber. He was also detailed to NASA, supporting requirements for the International Space Station.

As a civilian, Dickey served as Chief Architect of Air Force Space Command and then the U.S. Space Force and was instrumental in standing up the Space Warfighting Analysis Center. His efforts helped lead advance strategic shift of the Air Force’s space enterprise to a more resilient and combat effective posture.

Dickey has a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado and a Master of Strategic Studies from Air University. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and three professional military education courses. His honors include 27 military awards, the NASA Group Achievement Medal and the National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal.

He participated in leadership programs from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and the Center for Creative Leadership, and is an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Al Tadros is the Chief Technology Officer of Redwire. In this role, he is focused on making strategic investments that support Redwire’s customers, advancing technology development and commercialization, and maintaining a nimble and collaborative technical culture. With nearly three decades of experience as an aerospace executive, Al is a thought leader in in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing with a proven track record in maturing satellite and space systems programs for exploration, national security, and commercial innovation.

Previously, Al was Chief Growth Officer and Executive Vice President of Space Infrastructure at Redwire. In this role, he oversaw the company’s long-term growth strategy and business development activities, and was responsible for advancing development, increasing adoption, and building momentum for Redwire’s mission-enabling capabilities within the civil, defense, and commercial space sectors.

Prior to Redwire, he served as Vice President of Space Infrastructure and Civil Space at Maxar Technologies, where he led significant innovation in next-generation spacecraft design and space infrastructure, integrating robotics and in-space satellite manufacturing, servicing, and assembly capabilities. Over the course of his career at Maxar, Al contributed to 13 missions and launch campaigns, many of which deployed cutting-edge communications and remote sensing systems. Al has worked with both commercial enterprises and government agencies to develop space systems for communications, satellite servicing, remote sensing, and exploration.

An authority in in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing, Al holds patents in the field of attitude control systems and was responsible for early telerobotics research for the International Space Station.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dr. Marco Villa serves as Chief Revenue Officer for Terran Orbital Corporation, an industry-leading small-satellite products and services provider. Dr. Villa’s established expertise plays an integral role in managing daily operations, strategic efforts and the acquisition and execution of satellite opportunities for civil, defense, and commercial organizations worldwide. Prior to his position at Terran Orbital, Dr. Villa served as the Director of Mission Operations at SpaceX, where he managed Dragon spacecraft missions. Dr. Villa also advises on corporate strategy and business execution in high technology industries. With a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in engineering management, Dr. Marco Villa continues to make his mark in the aerospace industry domestically and internationally.